Housing incentives

Cape needs more multi-family housing

When we think about the forces that burst the U.S. housing market bubble five years ago, we think about greed and the people who made billions bundling mortgages and selling them in flimsy new markets that almost nobody understood and that were largely unregulated. We think about the bankers who loaned money to people they sh...

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capecodtimes.com

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Posted Jan. 8, 2013 at 2:00 AM

Posted Jan. 8, 2013 at 2:00 AM

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When we think about the forces that burst the U.S. housing market bubble five years ago, we think about greed and the people who made billions bundling mortgages and selling them in flimsy new markets that almost nobody understood and that were largely unregulated. We think about the bankers who loaned money to people they shouldn't have been loaning to, and we think about the millions of private citizens who borrowed money for homes they couldn't afford.

But we also should think about the over-arching federal policies that were founded on the financially naive assumption that nearly everyone should and could own their own homes, regardless of how much they earned or were likely to earn in the future. It was an article of faith for Democrats and Republicans alike, and while it was well-intended, it was founded on flawed understandings of economic reality.

In the wreckage of that failed policy comes something more solid and promising for the future here in Massachusetts.

A new Housing Development Incentive Program provides incentives for developers to build multifamily housing in certain areas of Massachusetts, including Barnstable, Fall River and New Bedford.

Gov. Deval Patrick last month announced a goal of 10,000 new apartments each year that would rent at market rates and provide homes for middle income and young workers who find themselves priced out or not interested in buying single-family homes.

The program offers financial incentives for developers in the form of a 10 percent state tax credit for construction or rehabilitation costs, plus a break on local property taxes.

The need for such housing is great, and not just in those towns and cities. Last year, a total of fewer than 2,500 apartments were built in the entire state, far fewer than needed. And on Cape Cod, apartments and multi-family housing units have been in short supply for decades.

Falmouth, Orleans, Yarmouth and other Cape towns need the incentive program as much as any other area of the state. We urge the Cape legislative delegation to file a bill that would expand the incentive program.

Until then, more towns on Cape Cod need to do what Barnstable did a few years ago — rezone parts of downtown as a new district that accommodates multifamily construction and rehabilitation. Because of those changes, Hyannis now offers numerous apartments and condos, all within walking distance of downtown. This is a smart policy choice that has brought new money and new people into the heart of downtown Hyannis.

New market-rate, multi-family housing in other parts of the Cape would give downtown areas a fresh injection of energy and help revitalize